


Peter Pan

by madneverland (mercymadhatter)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Escapism, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Peter Pan Chanyeol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 11:30:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6752200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mercymadhatter/pseuds/madneverland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which windows are never to be closed, bananas make people closer, and Peter Pan is real.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Peter Pan

**Author's Note:**

> length: 1.6K  
> warnings: not as good as you think

The beeping was unbearable, the thankful murmurs were deafening, the realization was _toxic_.

Baekhyun's uneasy eyes studied the white room one last time. If this was another game of hide and seek he was willing to admit defeat. "Come out," he said. "You guys win!" He smiled nervously as he began to miss the soft screeching of a sun-like bird and the low chuckling rumbles of a grinning giant.

As much as his prolonged denial could spare him the tears, it couldn't stop reality from striking him in the face. There were no signs of Ray—no signs of  _him_.

With a quivering lip, Baekhyun whispered, "You promised—you promised you'd never leave..." He thought back to their last night together and with a string of realization intertwined with his sorrow, the first accepting tear rolled down his cheek. 

_It's not going to be the end of our story because I'm going to meet you again."_

 

* * *

 

  - 2 YEARS EARLIER -

Whispers of concern sailed softly through the car, drumming loudly in Byun Baekhyun's ears. He decided to ignore them and stare straight out the window. Even the loudest of gossip was immune to Baekhyun's self-esteem—that is if he still had any.

The petite brunette watched the quiet scenery change; the hospital grounds disappeared, skyscrapers grew small, and busy people ceased to crowd the streets. It wasn't long before he was welcomed by the familiar vegetation of his childhood. Province Kangwon, Yanggu—his grandmother's home.

His frail grandmother received him with open arms. Her melancholic tears landing on his shoulders as her thankful prayers hummed next to his ear. "Thank the Heavens, you're safe." she murmured, "Child, my poor sweet child." Baekhyun hesitated. At first, he wasn't sure as to how he should respond to his grandmother's soft prayers, but as her voice gradually began to shake in anguish, his arms wrapped around her youth-deprived body and silently joined the mourning of their mutual loss.

 

* * *

 

Baekhyun walked down the empty corridor. Due to financial instability issues, the brunette would have to put up with housing with his aunt. He wasn't particularly content about the decision, but he was in no position to argue. The funeral expenses and his temporary, yet costly stay at the hospital reduced the possibility of him staying with his grandmother—there was simply no say in the situation. 

His aunt's house hadn't changed much throughout the years, excluding the recently remodeled second floor, everything was picture perfect from the brunette's memories. He walked up the flight of newly added stairs and headed straight to his designated bedroom. He threw short-timed glances at the wooden interior. He was sure he would've admired the room's long wooden bay-window if he hadn't been in such a restless state. The pink cherry blossom buds' blooming was captured perfectly through the window's convenient location, yet Baekhyun refused to open the window—he refused to show signs of appreciation for nature when nature itself had shown no such clemency for him and his parents.

He proceeded to cross the room and paid no heed to the creaking floor. Although the squeaking wood resembled the careful tiptoeing of a curious infant, Baekhyun never glanced back and dismissed it as his own steps creating a domino effect on the freshly placed wood tiles.

 

* * *

 

A dark shade of purple greeted the young brunette as he swiftly undressed himself in the washroom. Silent sighs slipped through his chapped lips as a reflection of his wrecked body flashed by his peripheral view. He looked up to see his pitiful self staring right back. 

Green, purple, and black discoloration marked his body in large sizes and unique shapes; tiny burgundy scabs replaced the shattered glass and Baekhyun didn't fail to see the bandage covering the right profile of his head. He removed the gauze and continued to stare at the shaven region atop his head. He witnessed the pattern of the black stitches reattaching his pierced scalp.

The shower greeted the young lad with steaming water quickly stinging his torn flesh and injuries. The brunette allowed a quiet grunt to slip from his lips. His body set free a sensation that was not quite euphoric and not quite an agony—it was slightly masochistic and needy of pain.

He began reminiscing; the memories circled through his veins like heroin—the smiles, the singing, the  _company_. Then, just like any heroin withdrawal, Baekhyun felt the severe aching, the extreme pain, the **repulsive** nausea. He couldn't hear the giggling caroling anymore, instead an image of his family's vehicle flipping in the middle of a street displayed before his eyes. Their bodies thrashing around the spinning car, loud panicked screaming deafening Baekhyun's ears. 

He began to scrub his body vigorously as he remembered his whirling vision and panicked agitated breathing. Another moan left the brunette's throat as he dropped the white shower sponge and—as if all energy had been withdrawn from his body—fell limply on the shower floor, his heavy breathing preventing his tired self from shedding any tears of misery.

 

* * *

 

Rice grains moved from side to side as Baekhyun picked at them with his chopsticks, simultaneously stabbing his meat on the side. Grandmother Byun, as well as his aunt and uncle, watched intensely as his emotionless eyes wandered from meat to rice—rice to meat and from meat to rice again. The news regarding the youngest Byun's physical and emotional head trauma traveled fast through the family, the Byun's tragic car accident reaching the deepest parts of Yanggu.

The family's meaningless interactions and scrutinizing observations caused Baekhyun to glance up from his tedious meal. He proceeded to bow, demonstrating his gratitude, and assembled his dishes into one pile, placing them in the sink in an organized fashion. As Baekhyun returned from the kitchen to formally dismiss himself from dinner, the young man's legs gave out in a clumsy manner and caused a sinful misstep in the dining room.

Everyone gawked as the boy's body landed on the floor.

"Baekhyun!" yelled his grandmother in great alarm. "Are you alright?!" Her short weak legs shuffled around the dining table until she hovered over the poor boy. The rest of the family ran to the boy's aid and continued to call out his name. Great panic manifested in the household as they witnessed the boy's closed eyes. His grandmother pulled him into her arms and patted at his cheek, seeking for his consciousness. 

Everyone flinched as the boy grunted and raised his arm to rub the back of his head, squinting his eyes in pain as he did so. After the throbbing at the back of his head had subsided, Baekhyun looked into his grandmother's eyes as if apologizing for his careless behavior. The old woman hugged him tightly and asked him once more if he was okay—to which the mute brunette nodded.

 

* * *

 

More loud whispers of concern echoed through the house after Baekhyun speechlessly refused his uncle's offer to escort him to his room. He continued to walk up the flight of stairs, ignoring his family's worried dialect, and made sure to cautiously shut the door to his bedroom. He sat quietly on his bed, inhaling and exhaling to the rhythm of the April breeze. 

The brunette glanced over at the open window and noticed the delicate trail of pink petals by the wall-infused bookshelf. His dark brown eyes traced over the pink pathway leading to the pile of books lying on the right end of the small counter protruding from the window frame.

He stood up from his bed and headed to the blossom-highlighted books, delicately grazing his fingertips over the aging titles. The brunette studied the distinguished book titles and was capable of recognizing them. Although the titles ranged from translated English literary nonsense to Korean fiction novels, he found a common characteristic in all the titles— _fantasy_.

A quiet whisper of the wind softly murmurs into Baekhyun's ears and as his body shivers slightly, he tilts his head to the side and glances towards the open window. His eyes are narrowed as he watches the white curtains dance in the fresh breeze.

His hands reached out for the window's arched handles—he certainly didn't remember opening the window before or after his ill shower—his fingers enclosed on the small handles, but before the chance of shutting it arrived, a deep and bittersweet voice interrupts his train of thought.

"I wouldn't close it if I were you," the petite brunette slowly peeked over his shoulder, searching for the source of the voice. "Windows are never to be closed, they're the passageway to adventure—an open entrance leading to your personal reverie."

There, leaning against the bedroom door, stood a grinning lanky man—arms crossed confidently over his chest. "Come with me." he says, "I'll take you to the place your heart wishes to be at." With soft feather-like steps, the taller of the two stripped the distance between them.

Baekhyun was taken aback. The tall male swiftly pulled him by the arm, making sure the shorter male stood safely on the window sill with his arms securing his slim waist. The taller man looks him in the eye and smiles before embracing him and jumping down to their surely imminent death.

Baekhyun simply closes his eyes and waits patiently for the impact, trusting the giant's words and hoping they would stay true to their syllables. A quiet satisfied sigh leaves the petite male's lips as he relishes in the warmth of the other's hands cupping his cheeks as the cold breeze wraps them up during their fall.

**Author's Note:**

> *endless wheezing*


End file.
